The author suggests that Stephen Castles’ contributions to migration studies are threefold: an analytical investigation of the nexus between migration and citizenship, a global approach to migration with a particular emphasis on new migration regions and finally a sustained critical perspective towards refugee and migration policies that are implemented in Western countries. Applying Stephen Castles’ ideas to the French case, the author argues that the French model of migrant incorporation would benefit from an acknowledgment of the ‘multicultural reality’ in France, a balance between the will to control immigration and the demand for immigrant workers and finally a critical assessment of the immigration laws and their outcomes.